1. Field of the Invention
This present invention relates to a water purification agent employing a catalytic reaction, and a method of water purification employing the activation of microbes, where the water purification agent and the water purification method purify polluted water, including, but not limited to, sewage and industrial effluent, by using enzymes to activate microbes existent in the polluted water that break down toxic substances and affect the reduction of oxidized water.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Traditionally, the process of purifying water polluted with toxic substances such as organic compounds, nitrogen oxides and sulfides, which frequently originate from sewage and industrial effluent, has involved a number of different methods, including the activated sludge method and trickling filter method. The activated sludge method involves the aeration of sewage and other forms of polluted water, which facilitates the growth of aerobic bacteria in the polluted water, leading to the agglomeration and settling of suspended solids. When agglomerated, the suspended solids absorb pollutants from the water, giving one method for purifying polluted water.
The trickling filter method also utilizes aerobic bacteria to effect the purification of sewage and other forms of polluted water. With this method however, polluted water is sprinkled evenly on a filter bed covered with broken stones or some other porous material, and the flow of the polluted water results in growth of a microbial film that purifies the water on the surface of the filter bed, giving yet another method for purifying water. Several varieties of microbes existent in this microbial film break down contaminants existent in polluted water and transform sludge into substances such as carbon dioxide, water, nitrogen and ammonia, effecting the purification of the polluted water.
In addition to the above methods of purifying polluted water, for bodies of water such as rivers, lakes, dams, bays, ports, harbors, and coastal waters where there are large deposits of sludge, the sludge is dredged and then disposed of, while at sewage plants, the sludge generated during sewage treatment is transformed into coagulated sludge and then disposed of. Sludge dredged or coagulated in these ways is disposed of through a process of incineration.
Because the aforementioned traditional purification methods necessitate the collection of polluted waters such as sewage, wastewater and industrial effluent into specific treatment facilities before initiation of the purification process, a major problem with these methods is low throughput. Another particular problem of the activated sludge method and the trickling filter method is that they cannot be used on publicly accessible bodies of water such as rivers or lakes; these water treatment facilities are, thus, limited in their effectiveness.
As it is necessary to collect the polluted water into specific disposal facilities before initiating the purification process, a further problem involves the resulting odors, including putrefaction odors, methane odors, hydrogen sulfide odors, food waste odors, and the odor of livestock excreta. These odors have a significantly negative impact on the areas surrounding the disposal facilities.
Also, with the traditional method of incineration for sludge dredged from rivers, lakes, dams, bays, ports, harbors and coastal waters, or sludge agglomerated from polluted water, in addition to the cost factor, the generation of carbon monoxide and dioxins may cause, in addition to water pollution, air pollution, resulting in negative effects on the environment.
The present invention has been created in order to overcome the aforementioned problems. The object of the present invention, which relates to a water purification agent employing catalytic reactions and a water purification method employing the activation of microbes, is to provide the purification of water by utilizing natural enzymes to activate microbes that break down sludge and toxic substances such as organic compounds, while also being easily employable at rivers, lakes and water treatment facilities.